Port Tobacco times, and Charles County advertiser. (Port Tobacco, Md.) 1845-1898, 1887-01-28

Friday Morning..........January %, 1887
No New Registration Wanted.
The proposition to demand of the next
Legislature another new regis ration law
should, and doubtless will meet with ge3
eral disapprobation in all the counties OF
the State. The only need of such measure
is said to be in the election irregularities
the city of Baltimore. 1t is not alleged
by any one that there is any defects in the
registration of voters in any of the coun-
ties which cannot be adequately remedied
by the annual revision provided for in the
present law. But it is said that since the
new registration in 1882, the registration
lists in Baltimore city have again become
so far inaccurate, in spite of the annual
revision, as to require an entirely new re-
gistration of voters to correct them.
Now it will be remembered that this
was the same reason assigned for the new
registration law of 1882, whereby an en-
tir ly new registration of all the voters of
every county of the State was required
Then, as now, it was not commended that
any inaccuracies existed in the counties
calling for such a measure; but as the
provision in the present constitution call
ing tor uniform registration" of the
voters of the State was construed to mean
that no new registration could be provid-
ed for by law in any portion of the State,
without having the entire voting popula-
tion of the State newly registered at the
same time, the law was passed 50 as to
extend to the whole State.
We believe the experience of all the ru-
raj districts of the State was the same A.
in this county, that large number Of
voters failed to register the first year o.
the new registration. The people Of the
rural districts seemed reluctant to recog-
nize the right of the lawmaking power to
require them to register anew, and for
this cause, among many Others, many Of
the rural voters failed to register and con-
sequently lost their vote. In this county
the failure to register was almost exclu-
sively among the white voters, the color
ed citizens being more jealous of depri-
walton of their political rights. The re-
suit was that the Democrats in this sec.
ton were the chief sufferers by the new
registration Hence it is that on the score
of general convenience and in the interest
of full expression of the popular will At
the polls, another new registration of the
voters will meet with general disfsver in
the counties; and in Southern Maryland
the additional reason of political inexpe-
diency will strongly influence the people
against such measure.
It is difficult to see how the Baltimore
city registration lists should have become
SO far corrupted in the short tim inter-
vening since the law Of 1882 went into
operation, in spite of the careful annual
revisions provided for in the law, as to
require another new registration 50 soon
The former law had been in operation .
much longer period of time before the pre-
sent law was demanded. Bat there are
prominent citizens in Baltimore city-whei
contend that the voting lists of the city
can only be kept pure and correct by an
entirely new registration to be made an
nually. However this may be, it is mani
fest that the irregularities that may have
sprung up in this respect in the city in the
short time in which the present law has
been in operation are not such Is to war
rant the State in incurring the heavy ex-
penses of an entire new registration and
to put the people Of the rural districts to
so much inconvenience.~sse
1t will now only be few years before
the constitutional convention will assemble
to remodel the State constitution. There
is no doubt that provision will then be
made to allow a new registration of votes
In any one county or city of the State,
where and when such measure may be
necessary, without at the same time put
ting all the counties to the unnecessary in
conveaience and the State to the needless
expense of new registration. So our
friends in Baltimore should endeavor to
content themselves until after the new con-
stitution is put in operation.